diff --git a/photo_watch.py b/photo_watch.py
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e5d02c8
--- /dev/null
+++ b/photo_watch.py
@@ -0,0 +1,110 @@
+"""photo-pipeline: watch-folder trigger flow.
+
+Watches /mnt/data/takeout/incoming for:
+  - *.txt / *.manifest  → Takeout download URLs (one per line) → takeout-fetch
+  - *.zip / *.tgz       → already-downloaded Takeout archives → extract + ingest
+
+When found, chains the pipeline automatically and notifies via Apprise.
+Designed to run on a schedule (e.g. every 15 min) OR as a long-running serve().
+"""
+
+import shutil
+from pathlib import Path
+
+from prefect import flow, task
+
+import photo_db as db
+from takeout_fetch import download_archive, extract_archive, track_archive
+from photo_ingest import check_duplicates, register_new_images, scan_directory
+from apprise_helper import notify
+
+INCOMING = Path("/mnt/data/takeout/incoming")
+PROCESSED = Path("/mnt/data/takeout/processed")
+ARCHIVE_EXTS = {".zip", ".tgz", ".tar.gz", ".tar"}
+
+
+@task
+def scan_incoming() -> list[Path]:
+    """Find new manifests and archives in the incoming folder."""
+    if not INCOMING.exists():
+        INCOMING.mkdir(parents=True)
+        PROCESSED.mkdir(parents=True)
+        return []
+    found = [p for p in INCOMING.iterdir() if p.is_file()]
+    return found
+
+
+@task
+def handle_manifest(m: Path) -> str | None:
+    """Read a manifest of Takeout URLs and download+extract each."""
+    urls = [l.strip() for l in m.read_text().splitlines() if l.strip().startswith("http")]
+    if not urls:
+        return "no URLs in manifest"
+    extracted_dirs = []
+    for url in urls:
+        arc = download_archive(url)
+        track_archive(arc)
+        out = extract_archive(arc, export_dir=arc.stem)
+        extracted_dirs.append(str(out))
+    return f"downloaded {len(urls)} archives → {len(extracted_dirs)} dirs"
+
+
+@task
+def handle_archive(a: Path) -> str:
+    """Handle an already-downloaded archive in incoming/."""
+    if a.suffix.lower() not in {".zip", ".tgz"} and not a.name.endswith(".tar.gz"):
+        return f"skip non-archive: {a.name}"
+    track_archive(a)
+    out = extract_archive(a, export_dir=a.stem)
+    return f"extracted {a.name} → {out}"
+
+
+@task
+def process_extracted(export_dir: str, source: str) -> dict:
+    """Run the ingest chain (fingerprint + dedup) on an extracted folder."""
+    images = scan_directory(export_dir)
+    if not images:
+        return {"total": 0}
+    result = check_duplicates(images)
+    if result["new_list"]:
+        register_new_images(result["new_list"], source=source)
+    return result
+
+
+@flow(name="photo-watch")
+def photo_watch(chain_quality: bool = True):
+    """Watch incoming folder; auto-run the pipeline on new Takeout material."""
+    found = scan_incoming()
+    if not found:
+        print("Incoming folder empty — nothing to do.")
+        return {"found": 0}
+
+    results = []
+    for f in found:
+        try:
+            if f.suffix.lower() in {".txt", ".manifest"} or f.name.endswith(".txt"):
+                msg = handle_manifest(f)
+                results.append({"file": f.name, "action": "manifest", "result": msg})
+            elif f.suffix.lower() in ARCHIVE_EXTS or f.name.endswith(".tar.gz"):
+                msg = handle_archive(f)
+                results.append({"file": f.name, "action": "archive", "result": msg})
+            else:
+                results.append({"file": f.name, "action": "skipped"})
+            # move to processed
+            PROCESSED.mkdir(parents=True, exist_ok=True)
+            shutil.move(str(f), str(PROCESSED / f.name))
+        except Exception as e:
+            results.append({"file": f.name, "action": "error", "result": str(e)})
+
+    # notify
+    n = len(results)
+    detail = "\n".join(f"- {r['file']}: {r.get('result', r['action'])}" for r in results)
+    notify(
+        f"📥 photo-pipeline: {n} item(s) processed",
+        f"From incoming folder:\n{detail}\n\nReview: http://192.168.20.13:8092/review",
+    )
+    return {"found": n, "results": results}
+
+
+if __name__ == "__main__":
+    photo_watch()
diff --git a/prefect.yaml b/prefect.yaml
index 71f3520..e8c352c 100644
--- a/prefect.yaml
+++ b/prefect.yaml
@@ -87,3 +87,18 @@ deployments:
     name: photo-pool
     work_queue_name: null
     job_variables: {}
+
+- name: watch
+  version: null
+  tags: [photo-pipeline]
+  description: "Watch /mnt/data/takeout/incoming; auto-chain pipeline on new Takeout material"
+  schedule:
+    interval: 900
+    timezone: "Australia/Melbourne"
+  flow_name: null
+  entrypoint: photo_watch.py:photo_watch
+  parameters: {}
+  work_pool:
+    name: photo-pool
+    work_queue_name: null
+    job_variables: {}